LEXINGTON, Ky. — On the list of important entities in eastern Tennessee, few would rank higher than the University of Tennessee and Dolly Parton.

For Kentucky freshman offensive lineman Darian Kinnard, a Knoxville native, it’s a split decision on those two from his time as a Tennessee resident.

“Didn’t really much like the orange,” Kinnard said with a laugh when asked if he grew up rooting for Tennessee.

On Parton though, the views are much more positive. Kinnard’s aunt is a first cousin of the country music legend and eastern Tennessee native.

While Kinnard has never met Parton in person, he has seen plenty of pictures of his aunt and Parton together.

“It’s kind of cool,” he said. “I grew up going to Dollywood and stuff like that, but I never really go around saying my cousin is Dolly Parton. … I just go about my business and focus on doing what I have to do.”

That approach has served Kinnard, a former four-star recruit according to ESPN and U.S. Army All-American at St. Ignatius High School in Ohio, as he is one of five Kentucky freshmen to exceed the four-game limit for a redshirt season this year.

But unlike freshman linebackers Chris Oats and DeAndre Square, Kinnard was not a part of the Wildcats’ primary rotation at his position all season. He appeared in two of the first three games as a reserve offensive tackle but then looked poised for a redshirt with upperclassman depth at the position keeping him out of the next three games.

But when an injury briefly sidelined redshirt tackle Naasir Watkins, Kinnard returned to the field and has carved out a spot as a primary backup for starters E.J. Price and George Asafo-Adjei.

“I think he’s coming along really nicely,” UK offensive line coach John Schlarman said. “Like any true freshman he’s learning on the job a little bit, but I feel a lot of confidence in him right now just based on what he does in practice. … There’s some little things he’s figuring out right now and I think once he does that he’s going to play really, really consistent ball for us and I’m excited about it.”

In his first game of the season's second half, Kinnard was in for both touchdown drives against Vanderbilt.

That performance made an easy decision for Kentucky coaches debating whether to continue playing Kinnard even after Watkins returned or keep him under the four-game threshold to preserve his redshirt.

Kinnard’s fifth appearance of the season Saturday against Georgia ended the redshirt conversation, and now he's in line for regular snaps in the final four games of the season.

“I wanted to come in and contribute immediately, whether it was up to the four games or past it,” Kinnard said. “…I think I’ve progressed a lot. It’s a lot of technique and technical aspects I got from the older guys. Speed of the game, I definitely had to adjust. Losing weight, that was one of the biggest things I had to do.”

Kinnard is listed at 6-foot-5, 357 pounds on Kentucky’s roster but said he arrived on campus closer to 370 pounds. Since the summer he has dropped around 45 pounds, checking in at 323 to start the second half.

Regular workouts and cutting out most bread and sugary foods from his diet led to the weight loss, helping him begin to cash in on the potential that had him rated as Kentucky’s second-best signee in its 2018 class by the 247Sports Composite, which averages the ratings of the major recruiting services.

“I think that should be a lot of confidence,” Schlarman said. “Being in there when we take the ball down and score, obviously you’re not a detriment to the team and preventing us from scoring. I just think it would build some confidence in him and a lot of those young guys.”

The next task for Kinnard is returning home to Knoxville, where he lived for much of his youth between his birth in Youngstown, Ohio and moving to Cleveland in high school.

He may not have liked the Volunteers growing up, but Tennessee was one of four finalists for Kinnard along with Penn State, ULCA and Kentucky. A strong showing Saturday would not only help UK finish strong in search of the third 10-win season in program history but also send a strong message about the Wildcats’ pecking order in the SEC East for years to come.

That’s an underdog story even Parton could write a song about.

“I’m not trying to brag or anything but this is probably one of the best freshman classes that Kentucky has brought in so far,” Kinnard said. “As the standard increases by each class, it’s just going to keep going up. The standard of play is going to be at a high level, and it’s just going to keep making every player better. That’s what we just want to keep going on as the years continue, make sure each team is better and each season gets better.”

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